BY RUSSELL TURNER
CROCODILE TEARS AND BOTH SIDES
While our system of laws may not be perfect, I still believe that it is one of the best systems in the world. The core belief in our courts of law is the belief that each side will have the ability to tell their side of the story. I have watched a few court proceedings and understand the necessity for the judge or jury to hear both sides of an issue. I have observed how the audience can start to support the first person to tell their side until the second party has their turn. I feel that all of us Americans could learn a lesson from our court system and apply it to the everyday politics in our country.
In today’s world it seems that the only side many people hear is the one that the lap dog press will print for their favorite politician at the time. Far too many people assume that news media is unbiased and bound by a code of conduct that forces them to be impartial and unbiased. We Americans need to wake up and understand that the news media is neither impartial nor unbiased; it is up to us individually to look at both sides.
Recently I read a press release by State Representative Mike Brown of Tahlequah. He was rather upset with the changes of the government pension plans here in the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma is among many states where the pension funds are severely underfunded. Like other states, ours has had a defined benefit plan, unfortunately the system has proven itself to be unsustainable. Like many other government programs, too many politicians in the past found it easier to spend other peoples’ (the taxpayers) money than their own and would promise anything to get elected at the time. People in the private sector who pulled the same stunts usually found themselves in prison; just ask Bernie Madeoff.
Representative Brown is upset that the legislature is proposing a defined contribution plan to make the system more stable. The thing that he is neglecting to tell the public is the simple fact that if nothing is done and the current system fails, it will be the Oklahoma taxpayer that will have to bail the system out. While he doesn’t support the defined contribution plan, many hard working Oklahomans would consider themselves lucky to have a defined contribution plan such as a 401k; many everyday people are worried that their meager savings and Social Security will not be enough to get them through their retirement years. If the current system is not made solvent it will be those very people without any retirement plans that will have to sacrifice the most to bail the system out. Before any of you start crying crocodile tears over the words of Representative Brown, maybe, just maybe, we should look at both sides.
CROCODILE TEARS AND BOTH SIDES
While our system of laws may not be perfect, I still believe that it is one of the best systems in the world. The core belief in our courts of law is the belief that each side will have the ability to tell their side of the story. I have watched a few court proceedings and understand the necessity for the judge or jury to hear both sides of an issue. I have observed how the audience can start to support the first person to tell their side until the second party has their turn. I feel that all of us Americans could learn a lesson from our court system and apply it to the everyday politics in our country.
In today’s world it seems that the only side many people hear is the one that the lap dog press will print for their favorite politician at the time. Far too many people assume that news media is unbiased and bound by a code of conduct that forces them to be impartial and unbiased. We Americans need to wake up and understand that the news media is neither impartial nor unbiased; it is up to us individually to look at both sides.
Recently I read a press release by State Representative Mike Brown of Tahlequah. He was rather upset with the changes of the government pension plans here in the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma is among many states where the pension funds are severely underfunded. Like other states, ours has had a defined benefit plan, unfortunately the system has proven itself to be unsustainable. Like many other government programs, too many politicians in the past found it easier to spend other peoples’ (the taxpayers) money than their own and would promise anything to get elected at the time. People in the private sector who pulled the same stunts usually found themselves in prison; just ask Bernie Madeoff.
Representative Brown is upset that the legislature is proposing a defined contribution plan to make the system more stable. The thing that he is neglecting to tell the public is the simple fact that if nothing is done and the current system fails, it will be the Oklahoma taxpayer that will have to bail the system out. While he doesn’t support the defined contribution plan, many hard working Oklahomans would consider themselves lucky to have a defined contribution plan such as a 401k; many everyday people are worried that their meager savings and Social Security will not be enough to get them through their retirement years. If the current system is not made solvent it will be those very people without any retirement plans that will have to sacrifice the most to bail the system out. Before any of you start crying crocodile tears over the words of Representative Brown, maybe, just maybe, we should look at both sides.
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